In an effort to crack down on software piracy, Microsoft this week filed 26 lawsuits against resellers, alleging that many of them sell pirated versions of Windows and other Microsoft software. Microsoft filed the suit across several states and said that it found unlicensed software on many computer systems.

Mary Jo Schrade, a senior attorney at Microsoft said that "our message should be made very clear by today's lawsuits. We are committed to finding the unscrupulous dealers of pirated software and making piracy a business model that doesn't work."

According to reports, Microsoft gathered evidence by purchasing computer systems from various resellers under a secret identity. Microsoft said that it then tests the systems for unlicensed software. Microsoft did not mention which resellers were part of its crackdown.